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Motorstorm: Arctic Edge

Score: 7.5 / 10

The
original Motorstorm served as the Playstation 3's first original racing
series, created to fill in the gap for Gran Turismo (which has still yet
to make a proper numbered appearance on Sony's big black box). Introducing
early adopters to slick visuals, destructible environments and slow motion
crashes didn't quite set the racing genre on fire, but still maintained a
respectable group of fans. It was only a matter of time when the budding
newborn racing series would storm (sorry) its way to the
PSP.

After having raced across twisting jungles and treacherous deserts,
the masochistic men and women racers have decided to stage their next
tournament on the frozen

peaks of Antarctica. With 12 tracks spread across the mountain
along with 24 vehicles and several modes of play, this portable race
across the alps is quite hefty in content. You've got your standard racing
matches, with 10 racers driving across the frozen tundra for a shot at
1st place. Finishing strong opens up more tracks and
challenges, along with new vehicles

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and
parts to traverse the frosty terrain in.

The
tracks feature more twists and turns beyond a simple fork in the road;
each of the multi-path courses feature both upper and lower portions, from
snow-covered mountaintops to icy caves. A few environmental hazards,
including a blinding avalanche that can swallow vehicles whole ramp up the
intensity of these new tracks, while the new ice-clusive vehicles (again,
sorry) such as ATVs, rally cars, snowpluggers and big rigs each have a
handling advantage depending on the terrain, although it isn't so notable
that it becomes necessary to learn. Also unnecessary are the unlockable
liveries, decals, and other cosmetic additions you can obtain for your
vehicles, but racing fans eager to pimp their rides (and racers) can look
forward to the numerous aesthetic items to earn.

The
move to portable racing hasn't caused Motorstorm to lose its momentum; as
a casual racing series, the PSP is the perfect place for quick on-the-go
sessions. Arctic Edge retains its Boost gameplay mechanic, which allows
players to crank up the juice on their jalopies for an extra burst of
speed; Abusing it too much, however, will cause your vehicle to overheat
and eventually explode, which can hinder chances to place 1st.
Handbraking, powersliding, and other tactics apply here, but you rarely
have to control your speed to do well in these courses. Motorstorm is all
about casual, extreme racing that never goes too Xtreme, and that's
perfectly fine. The AI racers don't offer too much resistance, so
competitive racers may be better off competing online. Once the dust
settles, you can share snapped photos during the heated races thanks to
the game's photo mode, which saves pictures as jpegs which can then be
uploaded to a PC for bragging rights, or to capture a particularly brutal
crash.

Speaking of which, the slow-motion, bone-shattering crashes are
just as brutal on the PSP as they were on the big screen, giving players a
few seconds to watch their customized rig explode into several pieces of
shrapnel, or watch their masked racer ragdoll themselves into oblivion.
The visuals extend beyond the brutal crashes, however, as Arctic Edges
visuals are quite impressive, from mud and ice sticking to the camera, or
an entire mountain of snow falling across the tracks, among many other
little touches. There is a bit of sacrifice to be made for the smaller
screen, though, such as a smaller amount of on-screen racers. The somewhat
limited color palette can also cause a bit of visual obstruction,
especially when driving through sudden gaps in the tracks. A more dynamic
use of shadowing may have helped discern things, but developer Bigbig
studios still deserves props for being able to fit what was originally a
tech demo for the PS3's graphical prowess onto the PSP system. The
soundtrack consists of the usual kind of rock music that's common in most
racing games, with plenty of vocal performers that sound like they're
trying to hit a baby with a cat. Fortunately, the option to customize the
soundtrack with your own set of songs is available as
well.

While Arctic Edge may not be the penultimate title to propel the
series past its cult status, it still maintains the polished pedigree and
crazy crashes that makes the series a well-respected franchise. It may not
be the hottest racer in the portable market, but fans should definitely
think twice about giving this tour de tundra the cold
shoulder.